Finance director of Northern Foods resigns

Northern Foods, the FTSE 250 company behind Fox's biscuits and Goodfella's pizzas, has suffered the loss of its finance director after he agreed to join National Express.

The food company said Jez Maiden would leave on November 14 to join the transport group as finance director, his third job in six years.

Mr Maiden has built up a strong reputation in the City after seeing through a turnaround at Northern Foods since his appointment in 2005. Citigroup analyst Eamonn Ferry said: "This announcement is unexpected and a disappointment - we held Mr Maiden in very high regard."

Mr Maiden has previously held finance director roles at British Vita, Britannia Building Society and Hickson International.

Mr Ferry said the resignation, combined with news that Marks & Spencer - which accounts for 30pc of Northern Foods' sales - had suffered a slowing in food sales - could put pressure on the supplier's share price.

Mr Maiden's move comes a month after Northern Foods said it was closing a factory with the loss of 730 jobs after contract talks about ready meals for M&S broke down.

It also follows a 32pc increase in pre-tax profits to £45m in the year to the end of March on the back of cost cutting, changes to the company's product portfolio and price rises.